EA Sports FC 27 Season 1: Ones to Watch — Cards, Season Pass and Upgrades Explained
EA Sports FC 27's Season 1: Ones to Watch is live in Ultimate Team, bringing a new black-and-gold card type, a 30-level Season Pass and an in-season upgrade system tied to real-world performance. Here's who's included, how to earn every card, and how the new upgrade scaling works.
Football Ultimate Team's first content drop of the new cycle is live. EA Sports FC 27 Season 1: Ones to Watch kicked off on September 17, 2026 and runs through October 22, bringing a new card type, a 30-level Season Pass, and a fresh in-season upgrade system built around the summer transfer window. Here's exactly what's in it, who's included, and how to earn the cards.
1. What Is Season 1: Ones to Watch?
Ones to Watch is Football Ultimate Team's season-opening promo, built around players who changed clubs or are expected to make an immediate impact in the 2026/27 season. Unlike most FUT promos, Ones to Watch items aren't found in packs. Every card in the campaign is earned directly through the Season Pass, Squad Building Challenges (SBCs), and Objectives, starting from Early Access.
The cards use a distinctive black-and-gold design and are built to grow throughout the season: every Ones to Watch item is a live item, meaning its stats can rise as the real player performs in the real 2026/27 domestic season.
2. When Does Ones to Watch Run?
Season 1: Ones to Watch went live on Thursday, September 17, 2026 and is scheduled to run until Thursday, October 22, 2026. That window overlaps with the game's staggered launch: Ultimate and Ultimate Plus Edition owners and EA Play members got Early Access starting September 17-18, with the worldwide release following on September 25. If you're still deciding which edition to buy, our breakdown of what Early Access actually unlocks covers the edition differences in full.
3. How Ones to Watch Player Items Work
EA has confirmed a specific set of rules for how these cards are built and how they can improve over the season.
Base Stats
- Players already rated 83 OVR or higher keep their base FC 27 attributes on their Ones to Watch card.
- Players rated below 83 OVR are boosted up to 83 OVR as their Ones to Watch floor.
- Every Ones to Watch item is guaranteed a minimum of 60 Pace, regardless of the player's base card.
- Every card comes with Role++ in its listed position.
In-Season Upgrades
Ones to Watch cards can receive up to four separate +1 OVR upgrades over the course of the promo. Each of the following triggers one:
- The player is named in a Team of the Week, Star Performers, or Player of the Month item during Season 1.
- A one-time bonus if the player's club wins 3 of their next 6 domestic league matches, tracked from September 18 onward.
Upgrades are tied strictly to performance in the real 2026/27 domestic season, so a card's ceiling depends on how its player and club actually perform between now and the promo's end date.
4. The Season 1 Ones to Watch Squad
EA split the initial Ones to Watch lineup into two ladders, each tied to a different Season Pass track.
Regular Ladder
- Christos Tzolis — 83 LW
- Rodrigo Zalazar — 83 CAM
- Lee Kang-in — 83 RW
- Elisa Senß — 83 CM
- Yuri Tielemans — 85 CM
- Ferran Torres — 84 ST
Premium Ladder
- Anderson — 84 CDM
- Nicole Anyomi — 84 ST
- Maxence Lacroix — 83 CB
- Mika Mármol — 83 CB
- Cerci — 84 ST
- Djed Spence — 83 LB
- Karim Adeyemi — 83 RM
- Yan Diomandé — 84 RW
That's 14 confirmed Ones to Watch items to start the season, with EA noting more will be added through Objectives and SBCs as Season 1 continues.
5. The Season 1 Pass: How to Earn the Cards
Ones to Watch cards aren't purchasable and don't drop from packs — they're earned by leveling up the free 30-level Season 1 Pass, which has separate Standard and Premium tracks. Confirmed Ones to Watch unlocks on the pass include:
- Level 5 (Premium): Luka Vušković, 83 CB
- Level 10: Elisa Senß and Christos Tzolis
- Level 15: Lee Kang-in (or a pack alternative)
- Level 20: Rodrigo Zalazar (or a pack alternative)
- Level 26: Yuri Tielemans (or a pack alternative)
- Level 30: Ferran Torres (or a pack alternative)
Levels in between are filled out with FUT and The Grounds pack bundles, Player Picks, coin rewards, and a Cosmetic EVO Bundle at Level 27. EA is also running select Ones to Watch items through Squad Building Challenges and Objectives for players who don't want to grind the full pass.
6. How Live-Item Upgrades Scale This Season
Ones to Watch isn't the only card type getting the live-upgrade treatment in FC 27 — EA has published a general scaling chart for how much OVR a Season 1 live item gains when it earns an upgrade, based on its starting rating:
| Starting OVR | Upgrade Received |
|---|---|
| 83 OVR and above | +1 OVR |
| 78–82 OVR | +2 OVR |
| 77 OVR and below | Flat upgrade to 80 OVR |
In practice, this means lower-rated breakout items have more room to climb than an already-elite 83+ card, which is intentional — EA has said the goal is to keep upgraded cards useful without letting top-end items snowball out of balance.
7. What Else Is New in Ultimate Team This Season
Season 1 launched alongside a broader set of Ultimate Team changes detailed in EA's FC 27 launch update. A few worth knowing about:
- Holographic Items: a new two-tier cosmetic treatment — Regular for 87 OVR and below, Pristine for 88 OVR and above.
- Streamlined SBCs: players can now contribute eligible items toward a target score across multiple submissions instead of needing one perfect squad.
- Gallery: a new low-pressure collection system with more than 100 sets, its own Gallery Tokens, and milestone rewards.
- TOTW Community Voting: the community now votes weekly on one Team of the Week inclusion, with voting opening Tuesdays and closing Mondays at 11:59 p.m. PT.
8. Where Ones to Watch Fits Into the FC 27 Launch
Season 1 is designed to carry Ultimate Team from Early Access straight through the first month of the worldwide release. Its October 22 end date lines up with the point where EA typically introduces the next major promo, so expect Ones to Watch items to stop earning upgrades once Season 2 content begins. If you're weighing which edition gets you into the action earliest, our guide to how Ultimate and Ultimate Plus editions typically differ across EA and Rockstar's biggest 2026 releases is a useful reference point, and if Ultimate Team-style live progression across sports titles interests you, our look at NBA 2K27's own season-based MyPLAYER progression covers a similar idea in a different sport.
9. Quick Tips for Season 1: Ones to Watch
- Prioritize Season Pass levels over grinding coins early — several Ones to Watch cards (Vušković, Senß, Tzolis) unlock in the first 10 levels.
- Watch real-world results for your Ones to Watch players' clubs — three league wins in their next six matches is a guaranteed +1 OVR, independent of individual form.
- Don't dismiss lower-rated Premium ladder items — anything that started below 83 OVR has more upgrade headroom under EA's Season 1 scaling.
- Because cards are earned rather than packed, budget your SBC fodder around the specific Objectives EA rotates in through October 22 rather than opening packs hoping to pull one.
For the full run of new-season systems in motion, our complete library of game walkthroughs and guides is being updated as more FC 27 content lands.
Official Resources
- EA Sports FC 27 — Season 1: Ones to Watch (official)
- EA Sports FC 27 — Launch Update Pitch Notes
- EA Sports FC 27 — Official Site